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gptu reports to gprc

GREEN PARTY TU GROUP DRAFT REPORT ON ACTIVITIES ISSUES SINCE SEPTEMBER 2012

A) Our main recent concerns have been the production of a new GPTU
leaflet. We were able to print 5000 copies, many were distributed at Autumn
conference but there are more available on request from party HQ and they can
be downloaded from https://www.box.com/files#/files/0/f/343738453/gptu (at
present this entails opening a BOX account, if you don’t already have one).
Thanks to the GPTU members whose donations made this possible and to the
National and London Campaigns Committees for their financial support.

B) We ran a successful conference stall and would like to thank the TUC,
Unite and UCU for giving us leaflets etc for the stall. PCS also had a
conference stall.

C) We regret not being given a fringe slot as we had prepared a proposal
for a fringe on European anti-austerity campaigns. We supported Green Left, who
were also refused, a slot in running their meeting outside conference on
“Ecosocialism and Austerity”. It is worth noting that this meeting drew a large
audience despite being about a mile away from the main conference and competing
with other meetings in the conference’s prime slot for fringes on Saturday
evening. It is GPTU’s opinion that this suggests a flawed procedure for
selecting fringes at thus conference. (Video clips of the GL fringe
on http://greenleftblog.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/green-left-fringe-fringe-at-green-party.html).

D) Otherwise our main focus has been on preparing for the October 20 TUC
demo, we will be bringing the GPTU banner and working with the Campaigns
Committee to distribute GP literature and placards at the event from 10am
onwards at Temple station

E) We have just learnt that Christine Blower
(General Secretary NUT), is offering to speak at our spring conference. GPTU
and Green Left (and many other GP members), might well support the idea of
a Plenary on education with Christine, a senior UCU rep, a senior GP
person and an other.

F) Other (no less important), recent GPTU activities.

1) Support for London Metropolitan Uni students and UCU (lecturer’s
union) branch against cuts which included possibility of deporting students.

2) Support for Workers at two schools in Sefton, Merseyside, facing a
bizarre battle for

redundancy payments following the opening of a free school.

3) Support for Sheffield recycling workers' strike

4) Support for protests against threatened cuts esp. in NW and SE
London stalls and banner art several demos

5) Support Ramblers Assn protest against threatened privatisation
of National Trails.

6) Solidarity with the workers of Greece on General Strike,

7) Support for Barnfield FE College dispute GPTU members attended picket
line

8) Support for Derby Climate Coalition: all day event in Derby on
Saturday the 13th of October

GPTU REPORT to GPRC Meeting31 MARCH – 1 APRIL 2012

1)GPTU is not in receipt of any
funding from GPTU, and is underfunded.

2)GPTU leaflet has had a very good
take up. NB this version uses the words ‘TRADES UNION’ prominently on the
FrontPage, in response to public demand. We are considering updating content
for a new version of the leaflet.

3)Survey members to find out
which unions belonged to, to be undertaken.

4)GPEW Secretary had been
approached by D. Murray re a letter from GPEW toTU’s.; had suggested insertion
of para mentioning GPTU and its activities. No reply from Gpex regarding this.

“I
started by outlining what I saw as the issues for the Green party in their
relationship with the unions, the lack of a full understanding of what a union
is, what it does and how much synergy there is between broad union policy and
GPEW policy, as well as the correlation with regards to a commitment to
democratic and distributed decision making processes. I spoke that in my experience
that there was not a full understanding of these similarities and that it
should really be considered part of building the party to become involved in
your union, to be putting the party’s arguments and positions, and to be
working within to identify to those within the union the links between the two.

I went
on to talk about ways in which we can approach this, and solutions to the issue
of union engagement, and how we can start to punch our weight in the trade
union movement (compared to much smaller left parties who play a dominant role
in the trade union movement).

I
proposed two specific things which we as GPTU, and indeed the wider party need
to be doing, first and foremost an internal education, engagement and network
building exercise - putting together an easy to use presentation and leaflet
(if possible) so that someone local to a region can go round local party
meetings, taking the issue of union engagement and speaking to members on the
basis of encouraging them to take an active role, engaging in the wider union
and using their membership to influence wider policy.

Further
to the education aspect, using this to build trade union networks within the
party, on a union by union basis, so that once we get some kind of critical
mass within a union we can start to make effective moves within the union to
steer it's policies so that the synergies between the two organisations are
realised, clarified and more formally aligned.

I
discussed the different ways in which unions political funds were used, how
there was more to it than just giving money to the Labour party, that some of
our (and GP Scotland) elected officials benefit from funding from the FBU on
their much more open system of donations direct to politicians who support
them, the potential for the PCS to move to a similar situation, but the
possibility for it to be sewn up to a certain extent by the Socialist Party,
who exercise an effective voting bloc on the PCS NEC.

I
finished by outlining that it was not just cash or activist time that we could
be gaining from unions, but an effective raft of campaigning partners - trade
unions have more members than all the political parties put together, an people
are more inclined to join a union than a party, so in terms of campaigning to
help change our society for the better, they make the ideal partners for the
party.”

10)Resignations
from GPEW GPTU noted with regret that some GPTU members had left recently after
resigning from the Green Party in protest against Brighton Council’s decision
to set a cuts Budget. GPTU sympathised with their motives and noted that many
of them had worked very hard to support and promote Unions and Trades Unionists
within the Green Party. We still regard them as friend and comrades and hope to
work with them again in future.

11) There
was now a vacancy for a GPEW STW rep.

12)
CoR and local anti cuts campaigns: CoR had recently sent a delegation toGreece(including
Romayne Phoenix) which will be reporting back on 31/3/2012. P.Murry continues
as GPEW CoR rep.

GPTU (&CoR) Report to GPRC January 2012

GPTU report to GPRC –
Pete Murry
16 December 2011

1)GPTU
has been meeting monthly, in London and running a website, blog and
Email list

2)New
GPTU leaflet produced and distributed

3)Picketed
Andrew Landsley’s appearance on Question Time with GPTU leaflet

4)Support
for Mark Campbell in UCU General Secretary election. UCU Left sent thanks for
GPTU support

5)Secretary
written to Conferences Committee re Population Matters/OPT

6)Appeal
for funds for banner and leaflets.

7)Formation
of GP Disability Group discussed

8)P.Murry
had participated in staff Working Practices panel phone conference on 9/11 as
GPRC rep with D.Murray, M.Cridge and An Other. And participating in continuing
email exchanges.

10)GPTU agrees to support Mick
Dooley in UCATT General Secretary elections

11)Participated in public meeting
with South African film maker Reshad Desai, Gracia Romero (WonW), Maria Neri
from Conzarrd, an NGO focusing on agrarian reform and rural development in Mindanao, Philippines

12)BAE dispute Agreed to endorse
the Green left statement of support with Minor textual amendment (“workers at
BAE should be employed in the SRUGGLE against climate change”).”

GPTU Disability Rep (Alan Wheatley) had reported that the “Hardest Hit"
march had been well attended with some GP members present, Caroline Lucas
lobbied.

There had also been GPTU support for local and national anti cuts campaigns
including support for the March 26 TUC day of action and the June 30
ATL/NUT/PCS/UCU strike against pension cuts.

Caroline Lucas’ statement of support for the latter dispute (blogged on
http://gptublog.blogspot.com/) had been very timely and was reported to have
generarted expressions of interest in joining GP via GPTU from Trades
Unionsists. GPTU is therefore considering appealing for funds for a new
leaflet, (existing stocks were almost exhausted) as part of recruitement drive.

Gptu had supported some GP conference motions (C21. One Million Jobs, C24.
Removing the Special Status of the Corporation of London, C35. Industrial
Policy Enabling Motion, D46. Coalition of Resistance, D48. Making the Green
Party a Model Employer), and was organizing a stall and a Fringe on “One
Million Climate Jobs

GPTU was sending Reps to the Coalition of Resistance Conference on 9/6/2011 and
supporting this motion:
“We call on CoR to use all possible influence to persuade those Trade Unions
who favour the use and expansion of Nuclear power that this is a false solution
to Climate Change offering only the prospect of pollution and damage for future
generations. We also call on CoR to lobby the UK government to decommission all
existing nuclear power stations and to ensure, in conjunction with Trades
unions, that all workers in the nuclear industries are offered a just
transition to employment in more ecologically friendly industries.”

Fringe meeting organised at conference on Campaign for Press and Broadcasting
Freedom with NUJ speaker. Video clips of conference fringes on the website.GPTU
very involved with campaigns in London for migrant workers rights and for Latin
American trade unionists sacked by banks and London University for organising
workers. Also joined picket lines at Heathrow airport for UNITE cabin crew and pickets
and marches for UCU members protesting against education cuts. I addressed a
picket line at King’s College London of UCU members.

Also joined picket lines during PCS strike of public service workers – in
Brighton six Green councillors on picket line and Caroline Lucas also.
Centrally involved in organising the March for Jobs in Brighton where Caroline
Lucas was also marching. Cllr Phoenix in Lewisham has been in contact with Mark
Serwotka, PCS General Secretary. PCS literature is giving positive coverage to
Greens in general election etc. Phelim Mac Cafferty and Pip Tindall have been
very active in Brighton.

GPTU is writing a new leaflet on workers’ rights and is also very involved in
today’s march to save the Welfare State and the NHS organised by the trade
union movement. We asked for a speaker at today’s march but were told that no
political party speakers could address the rally only trade unionists.

FBU made a contribution to London Green Party and contacts with other unions
continue. Housmans bookshop in London have also agreed to have a link to our
website on theirs and vice versa – they are a long established radical bookshop
near Kings Cross station.

Conferences Committee being asked to try and have trade union stalls at future
conferences. I attended South East Region TUC LGBT History Month event (new
films) at Congress House. Teresa Delaney spoke at an event for International
Women’s Day in Oxford on ‘Fashion, Beauty and the Market’, where Sue Tibbles
also played a role. Members also involved in a major demo in London to save the
A&E at the Whittington Hospital in north London.
Members also attended the Campaign Against Climate Change Trade Union
Conference in Camden, London and speeches from this are on the website.
Messages of support have also been sent to support trade unionists being
oppressed in other countries (Iran etc).

Please contact P.Murry at yrrumuk@googlemail.com if you are interested.

GREEN LEFT FRINGE AT AUTUMN CONFERENCE 2012

Both Green Left and the Green Party Trade Union Group applied to have fringes at the Green Party Conference September 7-10 2012, Conferences Committee turned down both these requests. Green Left decided to mount a fringe outside conference at 6-8pm on Saturday 8th September GPTU agreed to support this meeting and contribute towards costs of room hire. Video clips at http://greenleftblog.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/green-left-fringe-fringe-at-green-party.html